Russian Cargo Ship Arrives at Station

The ISS Progress 41 cargo craft docked to the station’s Pirs docking compartment Saturday at 9:39 p.m. EST. The Progress is carrying 1,918 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen, 926 pounds of water and 3,080 pounds of spare parts and supplies to the station.

The unpiloted Progress vehicle performed the automated docking using its onboard Kurs automated rendezvous system. Flight Engineers Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka monitored the cargo craft’s arrival inside the Zvezda service module and were ready to use the TORU manual docking system if necessary.

The Russian resupply craft launched at 8:31 p.m. Thursday (7:31 a.m. Baikonur time Friday) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Nine minutes after launch, the Progress separated from the third stage of its Soyuz rocket, placing the unpiloted cargo craft into its preliminary orbit. Seconds later, its solar arrays and navigational antennas deployed on time.